Morocco arrests two people linked to IS

Moroccan authorities have arrested two people linked to the radical Islamic State (IS) Sunni extremist organisation as they prepared to leave the country to join the IS camps, MAP news agency reported citing the country's interior ministry.

The two men, who have connections with foreign extremists, were planning to get military training in IS camps before returning to carry out attacks in Morocco, in accordance with IS plans to expand the scope of its operations outside of Syria and Iraq, the ministry said in a statement.

Investigations revealed that one of the men is closely related to a Fez-based criminal gang headed by a former detainee under the Terrorism Act, the statement added.

The investigations also led to the arrest of four individuals in the same city in connection with this criminal gang.

Morocco denounced and condemned, in the strongest terms, the despicable terrorist crimes committed by terrorist groups against innocent people of all nationalities, religions and professions, including journalists mainly in Iraq and Syria, said the ministry of foreign affairs.

These terrorist acts run counter to Islam's teachings and are a blatant abuse of universal human values, said the ministry in a statement Sunday.

While expressing its strong condemnation of these cowardly terrorist acts and all crimes and other atrocities perpetrated by terrorist groups, Morocco underlined the need to pool efforts internationally to fight this phenomenon which threatens the security and stability of the international community, it added.

The terrorism phenomenon should not be linked to any culture, civilisation or religion, the statement said.